<\/p>\n
South African women are accelerating their adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) competencies, expanding their representation among jobseekers listing AI skills from 25% to 32% over the past three years.<\/p>\n
According to the August 2026 Pnet Job Market Trends Report, a Women\u2019s Month edition analysing 1.5 million local candidate profiles, male professionals still account for roughly two-thirds of jobseekers listing AI capabilities.<\/p>\n
However, data tracked over six years shows clear upward momentum in women\u2019s adoption of AI, with the strongest growth recorded over the most recent three-year period.<\/p>\n
Domain-specific adoption patterns<\/p>\n
The report highlights distinct differences in AI adoption across technical disciplines and specialised applications:<\/p>\n
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Generative AI for design and media: Female professionals lead adoption in this category. Over the past three years, women accounted for approximately 70% of candidates adding design and media AI tools to their CVs, up from 57% in the preceding three-year period.
\nGenerative AI for content creation: Women make up more than half of all candidates listing content-generation tools. Specifically, 60% of candidates citing ChatGPT proficiency on their CV profiles are female.
\nRobotic process automation (RPA) and machine learning: While men continue to dominate these fields, in line with broader IT sector demographics, female representation in RPA increased from 27% to 39% over the past three years. Female participation in machine learning rose from 20% to 24% over the same period.
\nGeneral AI capabilities: Female representation in general AI skills remained stable at around 39% over the past three years.<\/p>\n
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Anja Bates, head of data at Pnet, contextualised the trajectory within global research trends.<\/p>\n
\u201cPnet\u2019s analysis of AI adoption among female professionals over the past six years reveals clear acceleration, with the strongest growth occurring during the last three years. This is encouraging against the backdrop of international research suggesting that women have been slower than men to adopt AI in the workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Occupational breakdown and career pipelines<\/p>\n
Pnet\u2019s empirical dataset, drawn from Stepstone Group South Africa\u2019s platforms and covering more than 11 million registered users, identifies several career paths where women are increasingly integrating AI tools:<\/p>\n
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Executive, virtual and personal assistants: Among administrative professionals listing AI capabilities such as ChatGPT to automate routine tasks and improve productivity, women account for 96%.
\nData scientists: Women currently make up 31% of data scientists who list AI capabilities on their profiles, pointing to a growing pipeline of female talent in advanced analytics.
\nSoftware developers: In software development, where machine learning and natural language processing are highly valued, women represent 21% of developers citing AI expertise.<\/p>\n
Bates said the findings reflected the changing skills employers are seeking.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is rapidly reshaping the skills that employers value most, and Pnet\u2019s data suggests that South African women are responding by embracing AI capabilities at an encouraging pace.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur data highlights the diverse ways in which AI is being integrated into the workplace and the growing role women are playing in shaping its practical application.\u201d<\/p>\n
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#women #rapidly #closing #skills #gap #Pnet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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